Still in Hawaii.
But the lovely Stacy is hosting CT today, so stop over to see all the crafty fun!
Crafty Tuesday.
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Monthly Archives: June 2009
Happy Birthday Madey Mo!
Dear Miss Madey Mac Munchie Mo –
YOU. ARE. SIX!
And what a beautiful little six-year old you are! I was looking through photos of you and trying to decide what I wanted to say to you today. And then I came across these three…
You might like to be in the spotlight and out in front of the crowd, but it is behind the scenes where you really shine. You have a very quiet, loving, sweet way about you. You wear your heart on your sleeve and you really care so much for those around you.
And we care so much about you! You are really a very special girl.
Have fun jumping into six! I’m positive it is going to be a fantastic year for you.
Love you,
Aunt Bean
This & That
It is Thursday, and you know what that means.
Oh, wait! Maybe you don’t? Maybe you have been living under a rock or haven’t read up on us for the past few weeks?
- Yes, it is This & That Thursday, but this week Thursday also means it is (finally) VACATION DAY! We are probably somewhere over the big ‘ol blue Pacific right now on our way to Hawaii. So that means this is the last time you’ll have to hear and read, “we are going on vacation!” Although I guarantee we’ll have a million photos and fun to show you next week.
- While I go on vacation, my laptop is also going on a little vacation. I’m dropping it at the Genius Bar for a little checkup. Hopefully they will fix the prblem I seem t be having – the “o” sticks and I have t cnstantly g back and add it in.
- So that also means…I will be “unwired” this whole week. I am so looking forward to that, although I’m sure I’ll sneak peeks at J’s laptop and/or my phone. Maybe I’ll even figure out how to do some FB uploads from my phone. Eh….maybe not. But I have set up a few posts to publish while I’m gone, in case you get lonely.
- The girls went on a little spa day with Nena this week in preparation for the trip. The ladies at the nail salon adore Em and Addie and always try to outdo each other on their nails. This time the girls got polka-dots on their fingers and some cool Hawaiian flowers on the thumbs. Ad got dragonflies on her toes and Em got ladybugs, of course!
- Addie is also fascinated with Hot Wheels right now. She had one car that she got from a birthday party that she has been zooming all over the house, so Daddy got her some new ones and they spent Father’s Day playing cars. I think J. may have preferred that to the usual princess tea parties and Polly Pocket extravaganzas.
- Em is still wiggling her teeth and trying to get them all to fall out. Although now her bottom two adult teeth are coming up behind, so we really do need to get her baby teeth out. Not good. So we will be trekking to the dentist the day we get back from vacation. Hopefully she will have wiggled them out by then.
- I’m sure there is other stuff to tell you, but right now it is fighting for space in my head with my everything-I-need-to-get-done-to-go-on-vacation list. So instead, I will bid you all ALOHA, and see you next week!
Taste Of Summer ~ Wordless Wednesday
Showing us how “dainty” princesses eat ice cream (pinky out!)…
Uh….huh.
For some less messy (but surely not as tasty!) Wordless Wednesdays, pop on over here.
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Also, just wanted to wish my sis and her hubby (Michelle and DJ) a very happy 9th Anniversary today, too. Woo hoo! Hope your day is wonderful and you have many more great years filled with much love and happiness. We love you two! ~ J, C, E & A
Crafty Tuesday
We are busily preparing for our vacation later this week, so I only have a few things and a few minutes to share our crafties for the week.
I finished my niece’s little sundress, and it will be sent on its’ merry way tomorrow, hopefully to arrive in plenty ‘o time for her birthday next week.
Yeah, again with the purchased shirred fabric – paired with a cute bottom fabric – and voila! Sundress goodness. The girls have worn their dresses twice each already, so I guess they are a hit.
Yesterday started our little Summer School Project ’09. Nena is here and we did some girly stuff (mani/pedicures) so we only had a few hours of school, but we started on Our Ocean World. We are turning the playroom into an underwater world.
Today we worked on alphabets (Addie), some spelling (Emma), alphabetizing (Emma again) and then went through our flashcards and started to find facts about all of our animals. Then we read the Rainbow Fish and made our own fish and hung them in our ocean. We are working on crabs and jellyfish today.
This time next week we will be lying under a palm tree or observing real fish up close and personal. So…Crafty Tuesday will be on hiatus, unless someone wants to guest host it at their place?
Have a great, crafty week!
We made it. ~ Best Shot Monday
Our summer begins. Finally. We could not be any happier.
Happy Father’s Day!
Hi all – Emma and Addie here. For thinking she was very prepared this week, Mama seemed to have forgotten to write anything for our Daddy last night to post here this morning. So we have banished her to the kitchen to make breakfast for Daddy while we write something to him.
Dear Daddy –
We love you. You are a very nice daddy. You take care of us and help us. You always play with us and tickle us and throw us up in the air. Thank you for working so hard so we have money to do fun things and eat. You are the best Daddy in the world! Happy Father’s Day.
We love you – this much (arms open wide) and to the moon and back to the bottom of the ocean!
Love,
Emma & Addison
Ahem. Stepping in from the waffle maker – Carrie here. I think the girls summed it up nicely there. You are an amazing father to the girls, J. And I am thankful every day that God blessed me with you and that we are able to experience parenthood together.
And to my Dad, thank you for showing me what goes into making a good man and father. For I surely realize what a “good father” looks like because I saw it growing up.
To all the Dads out there, hope you have an amazing day. And thank you for all you do!
School’s Out.
And then we had a first grader.
A first grader!
Every time I say that I have a catch in my voice and a lump in my throat. It isn’t just preschool or kindergarten, but an honest-to-goodness numbered grade. It just doesn’t seem possible.
But between bringing home an art portfolio that was bigger than she is and a glowing report card (seriously, she would have a hard time getting better marks or comments – she is such a good kid!), Emma left kindergarten yesterday for the last time. And she just can’t stop beaming or talking about the “most fun day ever!”
I have to admit, their little “graduation” party was pretty darn cool.
Even though we (a neighbor, two friends and myself) thought it a good idea to have a garage sale yesterday and today, I snuck out for a bit and went over to help out with the party, and take photos, of course.
They had little stations set up for the kids; bubbles…
…potato sack races…
…and water tables with water balloon games. By the way, I was filling up water balloons at midnight on Wednesday – and let me tell you, there is a definite art to filling them. I think I have mastered it after about my 50th balloon, and only breaking and getting sprayed by about 15 of them!
I don’t have a lot of action shots, because my station was…face painting. Another mom was doing tattoos and I painted. And painted. And painted – oh, probably close to 100 ladybugs, dinosaurs, puppies, kitties, butterflies, and flowers. There were 40 kids and once we got through all of them, one of them asked for another one on her other cheek, which started a mad rush to the painting table again. By the end of the day I had kids coming up and saying, “um…I still have a spot here!” as they hunted for a spare portion of their arm that didn’t have a tattoo or painting on it. It was really fun!
Except…all my pics of Em, as her last day as a kindergartner? She has this on her forehead.
Nice, eh? This was before she got more painting and tattoos…she was all inked up and the bathwater last night was dis-gusting!
Notice she did wear her dress that I “had to make for the last day of school!” But they all made t-shirts to wear to the party, so she ended up covering up the dress, anyhow. And she asked for me to braid her hair like Aunt Meesh. Although she told me in no uncertain terms, that it was not how Aunt Meesh does it. Everyone is a critic.
Then of course no party is complete without pizza and popsicles!
And goody bags.
And then it was time to say goodbye.
The little boy on the far left is Emma’s friend-who-happens-to-be-a-boy. His mom and I are always laughing about him (he has a twin sister that is in Em’s little group of girlfriends) tagging along with the girls. And apparently B. talks about Em. A Lot. And Em adores him.
So he walked up and said, “Have a nice summer Emma!” And her face just fell. He and his sister are going to a different school next year and I think it kinda sunk in that no more school, also means no more friends every day. And then I reminded her…almost every one of her friends lives within walking distance from our house. We could potentially see them a few times in the next few months. Silly girl.
And she also had another little playmate (who has been out of school for a week already) just patiently waiting for her first-grade sister to come home.
Why Addie needs a bath every night. ~ Wordless Wednesday
For more possibly not-so-sandy WWs visit here.
Crafty Tuesday
Are you ready for some craaaafts? (That doesn’t quite work with one syllable words, does it?)
Well, we have some stuff to show you today. Let me tell you, there hasn’t been any slacking around here this week.
Let me also tell you how excited I am that more of my faithful readers are joining in our crafting extravaganzas. It is inspiring and I’m stealing finding good ideas left and right! Last week Blueberry and the Bean posted a cool paper craft idea that I promptly recognized as perfect for all of the crazy scrapbook paper scraps I have lying around. So we made flowers for all of the teachers. Addie’s were delivered last week, Em’s are getting delivered on Thursday.
I also got the awesome idea from Hip Momma for the rest of the teacher gifts. I picked up some of these frames and we doodled on the first page (only!) and put in a sunflower photo.
So thanks, Ladies for the timely help!
After the teacher gifts, I moved onto the stack of birthday cards that I had to make. We have so many birthday peeps coming up.
and some more…
They are kinda dark pics, but you get the idea. And the best thing about all of the cards (besides the fact that they are cheap to make)? I used only scraps from my scrap stash! Recycling and crafty all-in-one, gotta love it.
One of the birthdays we have coming up is my sweet niece, Madey who will be turning 6! I was planning on making her a little summer sundress, so I took the munchkins to the fabric store to help me pick out a fun fabric.
Yeah. Apparently I temporarily forgot that my two diva-liscious girls LOVE the fabric store. We walked out with not only a dress for Madey, but one for Emma, one for Addie, and even enough for a wee dress for Bear. I have a hard enough time controlling my own fabric urges, it is downright impossible times three.
Next time, they must stay home.
So while we were waiting for Madey’s measurements, I put together Em’s… (The skirt is tiny little red and black ladybugs…of course.)
And Addie’s with a matching one for Bear…all fabric and ribbon picked out by the girls, remember. Not what I would have picked, but they turned out okay.
Totally simple little dresses, that anyone can make. And Addie’s fabric was on the clearance rack (it is all shirred on the top already even!) So we got the fabric for $2.96! Add in the ribbon and I made her dress (and Bear’s!) for less than $5. They may be impossibly stylish, but at least they can also find good deals!
We also started the Chore and Behavior chart today (well, yesterday) complete with tickets and prizes!
And I made these little ticket holders (more recycles! Mocha tins and scrap paper!)…
They each earned nine tickets today. I know it is new…but wow! It really did work.
Well, almost. Notice Emma did not get a stamp for No Whining, and Addie did not get one for Listening to Mommy. But the determination to get it right tomorrow is there. They are pumped. We’ll see what happens in the next few months. Yeah, we’ll see.
And our Summer School Project ‘O9 kicks off next Monday! I have been making flash cards for our first installment (ocean creatures) and Addie and I are going to create our ocean tomorrow morning. I must say that I have been having so much fun drawing the creatures and scouring the ‘net for crafts and fun activities. I hope the girls have even half as much fun and then I know it will be totally worth it. Mmm…and maybe learn a thing or two, as well. Here are a few of my favorites…
And just a little fyi – it is VERY difficult to come up with recognizable creatures for every letter of the alphabet. But I managed to do it with the ocean creatures. I’m working on Bugs and Butterflies now…and it might be impossible. We may have to take a different tact. But let me know if you need help or want to see them – or just want the flashcards, I’m happy to share.
And hit me with what you’ve got this week. Keep me on a roll throughout the summer with some crafty goodness!